djwebb2021 wrote:
No.
An Roínn Oideachais is correct. Oideachas is a genericised noun here, just like in an sagart paróiste.
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Hmm. So are you saying that 'Roinn an Oideachais' is outright grammatically incorrect? Or is it that there is a difference in meaning between 'Roinn an Oideachais' and 'An Roinn Oideachais'?
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On the other hand, I get your distinction between 'an sagart paróiste' and 'sagart an pharóiste', and equivalently between 'an bhean tí' and 'bean an tí'. This distinction can be seen as one of generic versus specific uses of the noun that's in the genitive.
Generic Sense:In the phrase 'bean tí' (literally 'a woman of house'), the word 'tí' is being used in a generic sense. So rather than there being any specific house in mind, it's effectively referring to the
general concept of 'house'. In this way, 'tí' is acting essentially like an
adjective. And, like adjectives can, 'tí' here serves to
categorise the word 'bean' i.e. put the word 'bean' into a specific category that might be distinct from other categories of women e.g. women who are lodgers, etc.
Once the indefinite phrase 'bean tí' is introduced in text or conversation, it is typically preceded by the definite article from then on i.e. it is henceforth a definite noun. e.g. '
Do bhíos ag labhairt le bean tí inné. 'Sé a dúirt an bhean tí seo liom ná...'
Specific Sense:On the other hand, with the phrase 'bean an tí' (literally 'the woman of the house'), there is a specific house in mind. So, typically the house in question will already have been introduced in the text or conversation, e.g. '
Do bhuaileas isteach i dtigh inné. D'ofráil bean an tí cupán tae dhom.'
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I think the distinction is more obvious in the plural:
mná tí (women of house) versus
mná an tí (the women of the house).
The phrase 'mná an tí' implies that the women are all associated with a single house, whereas there is no such implication with 'mná tí'.
The phrases 'an sagart paróiste' and 'sagart an pharóiste' can be analysed in the same way.